Axle rockers have been known from the state of the art and are also called, among other things, transversal swinging arms for guiding a motor vehicle axle.
DE 37 18 533 C1 discloses a steering triangle comprising two axle struts for guiding truck rear axles, which can be articulated to one another at two mounting points at the vehicle body, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, are mounted at a ball-and-socket joint at the axle body, wherein the opening angle between the axle struts is adjustable and the ball-and-socket joint has a multipart joint housing and a joint ball inserted into it rotatably. The axle struts protrude into a mount provided in the joint ball, and a bolt, which extends through the mount at right angles to the axle struts and at which the axle struts are mounted with a hole, is inserted into the joint ball. The housing has a flange, with which it can be mounted on the axle body.
Tolerance problems may develop because of the large number of parts, and, furthermore, the assembly of this steering triangle is especially complicated. Due to the size of the opening in the joint housing, the joint can be sealed against dirt and moisture with a considerable effort only. The two axle struts are also not at the same level, so that undesired bending moments may develop.
DE 92 18 307 U1 discloses a central joint of a steering triangle for connecting the said steering triangle to an axle in the chassis of a motor vehicle. The central joint comprises a housing designed or is made in one piece, at which the control arms are arranged, and a joint inner part, which is rigidly connected to the axle body of the vehicle and which is arranged in the housing in a molecularly deformable joint body. The joint inner part is designed as a ball piece with two fastening pins, which, located opposite each other, are led out of the housing and whose common longitudinal axis is arranged horizontally in parallel to the vehicle axis. On the side facing away from the central joint, the control arms are fastened to the vehicle body via a strut joint in articulated manner. In summary, this steering triangle has the feature that the axle-side joint is integrated in the transversal swinging arm.
Since different motor vehicles also differ in terms of their body and are also subject to different loads depending on their fields of use, it is necessary to develop, manufacture and install an individually adapted axle rocker for each of these motor vehicles. The different axle rockers differ, e.g., in the different design of the joints, in the length or the diameter of the control arms or in the angles formed by the control arms. Furthermore, the control arms may be connected to the joint housing by a screw connection or to each other according to a hot pressing method or a friction welding method. One-part cast constructions made of iron or aluminum are also possible.
However, such a manufacture, stocking and installation of different axle rockers adapted to the special model of vehicle is very complicated and expensive, because a large number of variants must always be kept available for the market.